German-based electric power giant RWE announced January 4 that its partnership with biotech developer Brain AG on schemes to employ micro-organisms to capture and convert flue-gas carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions could expand into oil-refining and waste-stream sectors.

Germany-based diesel engine and vehicle maker MAN announced January 9 that it sees “high market potential” for diesel-electric hybrid trucks, following test programs with a local delivery truck operator in Bavaria.

U.S. environmental advocacy groups including Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and Environmental Defense Fund are joining with public-health advocacy groups including American Lung Association to pressure U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to accelerate “Tier-3” regulations on gasoline sulfur content – along with tougher emissions limits on gasoline-powered cars.

U.S. President Barack Obama on January 18 rejected the permitting of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline, a decision welcomed by environmental groups but blasted by the domestic energy industry.

In what could prove to have a global impact on future demand for marine distillate fuels, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has come up with a novel sulfur-averaging scheme proposed for compliance with bunker fuel sulfur limits mandated by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marpol Annex-6 legislation.

A new electric-vehicle (EV) advocacy group called “Electrification Leadership Council” (ELC) debuted January 6. Its members include FedEx Express, Hertz, Navistar, Azure Dynamics, A123 Systems, CODA Automotive, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., ECOtality, Automatiks and GE Capital.

Natural gas production should remain at roughly the same level as in 2011, but there could be a pullback by producers in 2013 because of the continued decline in the forward pricing curve, according to Barclays Capital.

While U.S. refiners years ago fought long and hard against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 15-parts-per-million sulfur limit in ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), today they’re making far more money on high-quality ULSD – for both the U.S. and export markets – than on low sulfur gasoline.

Hovensa LLC., a joint venture between Hess and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., announced January 18 that it will shut its 350,000 barrel-per-day refinery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands by mid-February and convert it into an oil-storage terminal.

Los Angeles-based OriginOil, Inc., a developer of a technology to extract oil from algae, announced January 13 that will co-develop an integrated system with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the direct conversion of raw algae into a renewable crude oil that can be used by existing petroleum refineries.

The closing of three refineries in southeast Pennsylvania and a rule requiring special gasoline in the Pittsburgh region during the summer driving season could result in sharply higher gasoline prices and potential fuel shortages in the western part of the state, a forthcoming study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (PPMCSA) shows.

Offshore supply vessels (OSVs) in the U.S. Gulf Coast region are seen as likely targets for switching to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propulsion fuel – at least partly replacing marine gasoil (MGO) or heavy fuel oil (HFO) – according to a January 6 announcement from Houston-based classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced January 5 that it has been selected by The Dow Chemical Co. to provide technology to produce on-purpose propylene from abundant natural gas liquids (NGLs) originating from North American shale trends at a Dow production site in Texas.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from January 10 to January 24.

The latest International Energy Agency (IEA) monthly Oil Market Report (released January 18) finds that a weak global economy and relatively mild winter weather mean that global refinery crude runs for first quarter 2012 are likely to dip by 170,000 barrels/day (b/d) from the prior IEA forecast, to a total 74.9 million b/d.

In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed and then-President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). In keeping with Bush’s 2006 State of the Union pledge to make ethanol production “not just from corn but from wood chips and stalks of switch grass,” the law included subsidies for cellulosic-ethanol production and mandates for its use.

By 2011, U.S. petroleum refiners were required to blend 250 million gallons of cellulosic material – made from wood chips or the inedible parts of plants like corncobs – into their transportation fuels. The mandate doubled for 2012, and by 2022, it will be 16 billion gallons.

A group of 24 climate scientists led by Drew Shindell of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies on January 13 published an article in Science detailing more than a dozen key steps to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions other than carbon dioxide (CO2).

The European Commission announced January 13 the release of the second report from the “European Expert Group on Future Transport Fuels,” which recommends policies to encourage alt-fuels development.